A road safety charity is calling for measures to end speeding traffic around schools in East Lancashire as parents report 'roads aren’t safe for their children to walk or wheel to school'.
Yesterday, (Wednesday June 19), 80,000 children aged four to 11 from more than 720 schools and youth groups took part in Brake's 'Kids Walk' for their right to make safe journeys without fear of traffic.
According to new research published by road safety charity, Brake, latest official figures for child casualties on the nation's roads show that 6,075 primary school age children were harmed on UK roads in 2022.
Of these, 16 children died, and a further 1,113 suffered from serious injuries.
Department for Transport figures showed that 680 children aged four to 11 were harmed on North West roads in 2022, with the worst occurring in Lancashire.
Excluding Blackburn and Blackpool,149 children primary school children were recorded as harmed on roads.
Lucy Straker, campaigns manager at Brake, said: “We all want children to be able to travel to and from school safely.
"But sadly, every day, more than 16 primary schoolchildren are harmed on our roads. We know that excess speed is a factor in about a quarter of fatal crashes – and the physics is pretty straightforward: the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it hits and the greater the impact.
“Evidence shows us that by lowering the speed limits and reducing the number of vehicles on our roads, we also reduce the risk of people being harmed. This new research from Brake also shows us that people want 20mph speed limits around their homes and their children’s schools.
“We call on the future leaders of our country to prioritise safety on roads across our communities, by implementing 20mph as the default speed limit on roads in residential and built-up areas. We must keep our children safe!”
The data also shows that in 2022, 2,457 children aged 4 to 11 were harmed while walking, 484 while cycling and 2,859 children while travelling by car.
That includes one child who died and 165 who received serious injuries.
According to research, more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of parents and carers surveyed in the UK would like roads near their home and children’s schools to have a speed limit of 20mph.
In addition, 85 per cent of those surveyed said they would like to see Government doing more to make roads safer in their community.
Of the 2,000 parents and carers of primary schoolchildren surveyed, more than two-thirds (69 per cent) would like their children to walk or wheel to school more often, but many say they can’t because the roads are too busy (39 per cent) and the traffic moves too fast (24 per cent).
On average, more than 16 primary schoolchildren are harmed on roads every single day, equivalent to a whole classroom of children every two days.
The 80,000 school children who took part in Brake’s Kids Walk completed a short, supervised walk around their schools and communities carrying banners and posters, to help raise awareness of the five things they need to help keep them safe near roads: slower traffic, cleaner traffic, better footpaths, better cycle paths, and safe places to cross.
Brake, the road safety charity, has been organising walking events for schoolchildren at a national level for more than 15 years.
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